Drilling apparatus



Oct. 27, 1942.

C. F. oseoop DRILLING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 16, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l a Mal? laid,

Oct, 27, 1942. c. F. o sGooD' DRILLING AP-PARATUS Filed Nov. 16, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v Patented Oct. 27, 1942 DRILLING APPARATUS Charles F. Osgood, Claremont, N. H., assignor to Sullivan Machinery Company, a corporation of Massachusetts I Application November 16, 1940, Serial No. 366,015

1'7 Claims.

This invention relates to drilling apparatus, and more particularly to improvements in drilling apparatus of the high speed rotary type especially designed for use in drilling blast holes in relatively hard rock or similar materials.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved drilling apparatus. Another object is to provide an improved drilling apparatus of the high speed rotary type. A further object is to provide an improved rotary drillin apparatus particularly adapted to use with abrasive type bits such as diamond bits. Yet another object is to provide an improved high speed diamond drill especially designed for use in drilling blast holes in relatively hard rock or similar materials. Still another object is to provide an improved drilling apparatus having an improved mounting arrangement for the bit rotating motor whereby the latter may be swung laterally to one side or the other of the drill hole, thereby to facilitate changing of drill rods. Yet another object is to provide an improved mounting and guiding arrangement for the bit rotating motor. A still further object is to provide an improved pivotal mounting arrangement and lock whereby the bit rotating motor may be swung laterally in either direction with respect to the drill hole to facilitate changing of drill rods, and positively locked in its cen- Other objects and advantages of the invention will, however, hereinafter more fully appear.

In the accompanying drawings there is shown for purposes of illustration one form which the invention may assume in practice.

In these drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a drilling apparatus constructed in accordance with an i1- lustrative embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front end elevational view of the drilling apparatus shown in Fig. 1, the laterally located positions of the bit rotating motor being indicated in dotted lines.

Fig. 3 is a detail cross sectional View taken subon the plane of Fig. 4, showing a portion of the feeding means.

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view through the feed control valve.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6, showing the feed control valve in a different position.

In this illustrative construction there is shown a drilling apparatus of the high speed rotary type particularly adapted to use with abrasive type bits such as diamond bits and especially designed for use in drilling blast holes in relatively hard rock or similar materials. The drilling apparatus generally comprises drill bit rotating means, generally designated I, hydraulic drill bit feeding means, generally designated 2, drill supporting and guiding means, generally designated 3, and manual feeding means, generally designated 4.

The drill supporting and guiding means 3 comprises a trunnion support 5 having a swivel plate 6 adapted to be clamped in the saddle mounting of a conventional rock drill support. The trunnion support 5 has a longitudinal bore I (see Fig. 4) which slidablyreceives and guides a feed cylinder 8 of the hydraulic feeding means 2. The trunnion support carries conventional dirt seals 9, 9 which sealingly engage the exterior surface of the feed cylinder to prevent access of dirt to the cylinder guide bore.

The feed cylinder 8 of the hydraulic feeding means contains a reciprocable feed piston [0 (Fig. 5) having a tubular piston rod II, the latter carrying at its front end a control head I2. The feed cylinder has front and rear heads l3 and M, the former carrying a packing I5 sealingly engaging the exterior surface of the feed piston rod to prevent leakage; and also carried by the front cylinder head is a dirt seal l6 likewise sealingly engaging the exterior of the feed piston rod. Liquid under pressure may be supplied to the hydraulic feeding means through a usual swivelled liquid supply connection I! connectible through ports and. passages, to be hereinafter described, to the feed cylinder bore under the control of a manual control valve [8 arranged within the control head.

The bit rotating means I comprises a rotary motor 19, herein preferably a high speed electric motor, and this'motor has its casing 20 secured at its forward portion within the control head l2 with the motor arranged in parallel offset relation with the feed piston rod and cylinder in the manner shown in Fig. 1. Secured to the front end of the motor power shaft 2| is a chuck 22 which receives the shank of a usual drill rod 23, the latter having attached to its outer end a conventional diamond drill bit 24. By arranging the bit rotating motor in the manner shown, the drilling apparatus is rendered extremely longitudinally compact.

The control valve I8 is preferably arranged in a transverse bore 25 in the control head 52 and has a manual control handle 26, and the valve is made hollow, as at 21, and the hollow interior of the valve is connected to the supply connection ll. The Valve is of the rotary type and has a radial port 28 and a circumferentially extending groove 29. Communicating with the valve bore are forward and reverse feed passages 33 and Si and an exhaust passage 32 connected to atmosphere. The forward feed passage 36 is connected by a tube 33 extending centrally rearwardly through the feed piston rod into the rear end of the feed cylinder bore at the rear side of the feed piston, and the piston carries a packing 34 sealingly engaging the exterior of the tube to prevent leakage. The reverse feed passage 3| communicates with the hollow interior 35 of the feed piston rod, and passages 36 (Fig. connect the piston rod interior with the feed cylinder bore at the front side of the feed piston. When the valve 13 is in the position shown in Fig. 6, the forward feed passage is connected to the source of liquid supply through the valve port 28 while the reverse feed passage is connected to exhaust through the groove 29 and exhaust passage 32. When the valve is rotated to the position shown in Fig. 7, the forward feed passage is connected to exhaust and the reverse feed passage is connected to the source of liquid supply. If desired the flow of liquid under pressure to the forward feed passage 39 may be controlled automatically in accordance with the torque changes on the bit rotating motor, and the forward feed may be automatically vented when the motor torque becomes excessive, in the manner fully described in the copending application of one Win. W. Paget, Serial No. 322,267, filed March 5, 1940, now matured into Patent No. 2,288,543, patented June 30, 1942.

Associated with the hydraulic feeding means 2 is the manual feeding means 4, and the latter comprises a rotatable feed screw 31 extending centrally through a cylindric tube 38 suitably secured in a bore 39 in the trunnion support. The feed screw engages a non-rotatable feed nut ill fixed within the trunnion support and is provided with a hand crank 4! conveniently located at the rear end of the feed cylinder. By rotating the feed screw, the feed cylinder 8 of the hydraulic feeding means may be adjusted back and forth relative to' the trunnion support in a manner fully described in the Paget application above referred to.

Forguiding the bit rotating motor and for preventing lateral swinging movement of the motor about the axis of the feed piston rod during the drilling operation. a guide rod .2 is telescopically arranged with respect to the feed screw 31. the latter being of hollow tubular construction to slidably receive the guide rod. Secured to the uide rod at its forward end are spaced collars 3, A3 abutting the opposite sides of the control head l2 so that as the feed piston rod moves axially with respect to he feed cylinder the uide rod moves therewith. In this improved constru tion the forward portion of the guide rod ex en s throu h an arcuate slot 44 in the control head. and this slot permits t e bit rotating motor o be swung laterally in either direct on about th iston rod axis to clea the dr ll hole. F nga ement of the ends of the arcuate slot with the uide rod limits swinging movement of the b t rotating motor in either direct on. in an obvious manner. Carried by the front collar 43 is a spring-pressed plunger lock 45 receivable in a locking aperture 46 in the control head and having an operating handle M. The lockin plunger is receivable in the locking aperture 43 in the control head to lock the bit rotating motor in its central position in alinement with the drill hole. It will thus be seen that when the plunger lock is engaged within the locking aperture, the control head 12 is rigidly connected to the guide rod 42 so that the bit rotating motor is adequately guided and held against lateral pivotal movement during the drilling operation. Upon release of the plunger lock, the bit rotating motor may be swung laterally in either direction due to the arcuate slot arrangement, either right or left, into the positions indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. By mounting the bit rotating motor for lateral swinging movement in either direction with respect to the drill hole, changing of drill rods in the relatively close quarters in a mine is facilitated. If desired, the control head l2 may be pivotally mounted on the forward portion of the feed piston rodto swing relative thereto, and, in that instance, annular grooves must be provided in the passages 38 and 3! so that fluid flow to the feeding means will not be interrupted when the bit rotating motor is in its laterally swung position.

When the control valve I8 is properly manipulated, liquid under pressure may be supplied from the supply connection I! to therear end of the feed cylinder 6 at the rear side of the feed piston 59 while the front end of the feed cylinder is connected to exhaust, to effect forward feed with the bit rotating motor rapidly rotating the drill bit, thereby to effect drilling of a hole. Vfhen the control Valve is turned into its opposite position, liquid under pressure may be supplied to the front end of the feed cylinder 8 at the front side of the feed piston [0 while the rear end of the feed cylinder is connected to exhaust, thereby to effect reverse feed. As the bit rotating motor is fed forwardly, it moves outwardly with the feed piston rod with respect to the feed cylinder, and

the motor is guided by the guide rod 42 slidably received in the tubular feed screw .il. When the feed piston I!) reaches its limit of forward feeding travel within the feed cylinder bore, the operator, having moved the valve I8 to a position in which the feed cylinder may move forwardly relative to the feed piston. may operate the hand crank of the feed screw 3! to effect adjustment of the feed cylinder 8 forwardly in its guide bore 7 on the trunnion support 5 untilthe rear cylinder head M engages the trunnion support. Of course, with the arrangement of feed water control shown in Paget Serial No. 322,257, the valve it will not require adjustment before manual forward feeding of the feed cylinder can be effected. When liquid under pressure is again supplied to the rear end of the feed cylinder 3 at the rear side of the feed piston it, the bit rotating motor may a ain be fed forwardly under hydraulic pressure. The bit rotating motor obviously may be retracted from the work in a similar manner by proper operation of the hydraulic and manual feeding means.

When the chuck 22 is released from the drill rod shank, the bit rotating motor may be swung laterally in either direction about the axis of the feed piston rod so that the motor may be swung clear of the drill hole either right or left, thereby enabling ready removal of the drill rods from the drill hole. This may be accomplished simply by releasing the plunger lock 45 and swinging the control head I 2 relative to the guide rod 42 about the axis of the feed piston red, the arcuate slot 44 in the control head permitting an adequate amount of lateral swing while definitely limiting such swinging movement. The plunger lock is so located with respect to the control head that the bit rotating motor may be always returned to its drilling position in alinement with the drill hole and rigidly locked in such position. This lateral swinging feature of the drill is particularly useful during adding or removal of drill rod sections when the drilling apparatus is located close to the floor or roof at a side wall of a mine entry.

As a result of thi invention it will be noted that an improved drilling apparatus is provided having an improved supporting and guiding structure for the bit rotating motor and an improved arrangement of the motor with respect to the drill feeding means, whereby the drill is not only adequately guided during the drilling operation but is also rendered extremely longitudinally compact. It will further be evident that by the provision of the improved pivotal mounting for the bit rotating motor and the lock associated therewith, the motor may be swung s While there is in this application specifically described one form which the invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that this form of the same is shown for purposes of illustration and that the invention may be modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a drilling apparatus, the combination comprising a support providing a longitudinal guideway, feeding means comprising a feed cylinder guided for longitudinal adjustment on said guideway, a drilling motor arranged in parallel offset relation with respect to said feed cylinder and extending along one side of the latter, a

feed piston reciprocable in said feed cylinder and having a forwardly projecting piston rod, a control head supported by said piston rod at the front end thereof, said motor being carried by said control head, and manually operable means for adjusting said feed cylinder on its guideway relative to said support comprising an adjusting element arranged in parallel side by side relation with said feed cylinder at the side of the latter opposite from said drilling motor 2. In a drilling apparatus, the combination comprising a support providing a longitudinal guideway, feeding means comprising a feed cylinder guided for longitudinal adjustment on said guideway, a drilling motor arranged in parallel offset relat on with respect to said feed cylinder and extending along one side of the latter, a feed piston reciprocable in said feed cylinder and having a forwardly projecting piston rod, a control head supported by said piston rod at the front end thereof, said motor being carried by said control head, and means for guiding said motor during adjustment of said feed cylinder relative to said support comprising a guide element arranged in parallel side by side relation with said feed cylinder at the side of the latter opposite from said drilling motor, said guiding element being slidably guided on said support.

3. In a drilling apparatus, the combination comprising a drilling motor, feeding means for said motor comprising relatively reciprocable feed cylinder and feed piston elements, one of which has a forwardly projecting portion by which said motor is carried, said motor arranged in parallel offset relation with respect to said feeding means and extending along one side of the latter, a support providing a longitudinal guideway on which said feeding means is slidably guided, and a guide element arranged parallel with said feeding means at the side of the latter opposite from said drilling motor, said guide element being slidably guided on said support and serving to prevent rotary movement of said drilling motor about the longitudinal axis of said feeding means.

4. In a drilling apparatus, the combination comprising a drilling motor, feeding means for said motor comprising a feed cylinder and a feed piston reciprocable in said cylinder and having a forwardly projecting piston rod by which said motor is carried, said motor arranged in parallel offset relation with respect to said feed cylinder and piston rod and extending along one side of said feed cylinder, a supportproviding a longitudinal guideway on which said feed cylinder is slidably guided, a guide element arranged parallel with said feed cylinder at the side of the latter opposite from said drilling motor, said guide element being slidably guided on said support and serving to prevent rotary movement of said drilling motor about the axis of said feed piston rod, and means for adjusting.

said feed cylinder on said guideway relative to said support including an adjusting element arranged coaxially with said guide element and having telescopicrelation with the latter.

5. In a drilling apparatus, the combination comprising'a drilling motor, feeding means for said motor comprising a feed cylinder and a feed piston reciprocable in said cylinder and having a forwardly projecting piston rod by which said motor is carried, said motor arranged in parallel offset relation with respect to said feed cylinder and piston rod and extending along one side of said feed cylinder, a support providing a longitudinal guideway on which said feed cylinder is slidably guided, a guide element arranged parallel with said feed cylinder at the side of the latter opposite from said drilling motor, said guide element being slidably guided on said support and serving to prevent rotary movement of said drilling motor about the axis of said feed piston rod, and means associated with said guide element for permitting pivotal move ment of said drilling motor about the piston rod ax s and including releasable locking means for locking said motor against pivotal movement with respect to said guide element.

6. In a drilling apparatus, the combination comprising a drilling motor, feeding means for said motor comprising a feed cylinder and a feed piston reciprocable in said cylinder and having a forwardly projecting piston rod by which said motor is carried, said motor arranged in parallel oifset relation with respect to said feed cylinder and piston rodand extending along one side of said feed cylinder, a support providing a longitu dinal guideway On which said feed cylinder is slidably guided, a guide element arranged parallel with said feed cylinder at the side of the latter opposite from said drilling motor, said guide element being slidably guided on said support and serving to prevent rotary movement of said drilling motor about the axis of said feed piston rod, means for adjusting said feed cylinder on said guideway relative to said support including an adjusting element arranged coaxially with said guide element and having telescopic relation with the latter, and means associated with said guide element for permitting pivotal movement of said drilling motor about the piston rod axis and including releasable locking means for locking said motor against pivotal movement with respect to said guide element.

7. In a drilling apparatus, the combination Comprising a drilling motor adapted to actuate a drill bit to efiect drilling of a hole, feeding means for said motor, said motor arranged in parallel oiiset relation with respect to said feeding means, a support on which said feeding means is mounted, means for pivotally mounting said motor on said feeding means to swing in either direction relative to said support about the longitudinal axis of said feeding means into lateral positions at the opposite sides of the latter to locate the drill bit at either side of the drill hole, and releasable interlocking means for always locating and for locking said motor in a predetermined position between said lateral positions with the drill bit in exact alinement with the drill hole.

8. In a drilling apparatus, the combination comprising a drilling motor adapted to actuate a drill bit to effect drilling of a hole, feeding means for said motor, said feeding means comprising a feed cylinder containing a reciprocable feed piston, said feed piston having a forwardly .projecting piston rod by which said motor is carried, said motor being arranged in parallel offset relation with respect to said feed cylinder and said motor being swingable in either direction relative to said feed cylinder about the axis of said feed piston rod into lateral positions at the opposite sides of said feeding means to locate the drill bit at either side of the drill hole, and releasable interlocking means for always locating and for locking said motor in a predetermined position between said lateral positions with the drill bit in exact alinement with the drill hole.

9. In a drilling apparatus, the combination comprising a drilling motor adapted to actuate a drill bit to efiect drilling of a hole, feeding means for said motor, said feeding means comprising a feed cylinder containing a reciprocable feed piston, said feed piston having a forwardly projectingvpiston rod by which said motor is carried, said motor being arranged in parallel offset relation with respect to said feed cylinder and said motor being swingable in either direction about the axis of said feed piston rod into lateral positions at either side of said feeding means to locate the drill bit at either side of the drill hole, means for limiting swinging movement of said motor in either lateral direction, and releasable interlocking means for always locating and posi tively locking said motor in a predetermined position between said lateral positions with the drill bit in exact alinement with the drill hole.

18. In a drilling apparatus, the combination comprising a drilling motor, feeding means for said motor comprising a feed cylinder, said motor arranged in parallel oifset relation with respect to said feed cylinder, a support providing a longitudinal guideway on which said feed cylinder is slidably guided, a guide element arranged parallel with said feed cylinder and guided on said support for preventing rotary movement of said motor about the longitudinal axis of said feed cylinder relative to the latter, and a releasable connection for disconnecting said motor from said guide element to permit such rotary movement of said motor in either direction about the feed cylinder axis, said connection including means for limiting rotary movement of said motor in either direction.

11. In a drilling apparatus, the combination comprising a drilling motor, feeding means for said motor comprising a feed cylinder, said motor arranged in parallel offset relation with respect to said feed cylinder, a support providing a longitudinal guideway on which said feed cylinder is slidably guided, a guide element arranged parallel with said feed cylinder and guided on said support for preventing rotary movement of said motor about the longitudinal axis of said feed cylinder relative to the latter, and a re1easable connection for disconnecting said motor from said guide element to permit such rotary movement of said motor in either direction about the feed cylinder axis, said connection including means for limiting rotary movement of said motor in either direction, said movement-limiting means including a member provided with an arcuate slot through which said guide element extends.

12. In a drilling apparatus, the combination comprising a drilling motor, feeding means for said motor comprising a feed cylinder, said motor arranged in parallel oifset relation with respect to said feed cylinder, a support providing a longitudinal guideway on which said feed cylinder is slidably guided, a guide element arranged parallel with said feed cylinder and guided on said support for preventing rotary movement of said motor about the longitudinal axis of said feed cylinder relative to the latter, and a releasable connection for disconnecting said motor from said guide element to permit such rotary movement of said motor in either direction about the feed cylinder axis, said connection including means for limiting rotary movement of said motor in either direction, said movement-limiting means including a member provided with an arouate slot through which said guide element extends and said releasable connection including a releasable lock for locking said slotted member in its centrally located position with respect to said guide element.

13. In a drilling apparatus, the combination comprising a support providing a longitudinal guideway, feeding means comprising relatively reciprocable feed cylinder and piston elements, one of which is slidably guided on said support guide- Way and the other having a portion projecting forwardly in advance of said support, a drilling motor arranged in parallel offset relation with respect to said feeding means and extending along one side of the latter, a control head supported by said forwardly projecting portion of said element in advance of said support, said motor being carried by said control head, and manually operable means for adjusting said slidably guided element on its guideway relative to said support comprising an adjusting element arranged in parallel side by side relation with said feeding means at the side of the latter opposite from said drilling motor.

14. In a drilling apparatus, the combination comprising a support providing a longitudinal guideway, feeding means comprising relatively reciprocable feed cylinder and piston elements, one of which is guided for longitudinal movement along said guideway and the other having a portion projecting forwardly in advance of said support, a drilling motor arranged in parallel offset relation with respect to said feeding means and extending along one side of the latter, a control head supported by said forwardly projecting portion of said element in advance of said support, said motor being carried by said control head, and means for guiding said motor during the feeding operation comprising a guide element arranged in parallel side by side relation with said feeding means at the side of the latter opposite from said drilling motor, said guiding element being slidably guided on said support.

15. In a drilling apparatus, the combination comprising a drilling motor, feeding means for said motor comprising relatively reciprocable feed cylinder and piston elements, one of which has a forwardly projecting portion, said motor being carried by said forwardly projecting portion and arranged in parallel offset relation with respect to said feeding means along one side of the latter, a support providing a longitudinal guideway on which said feeding means is slidably guided, a guide element arranged parallel with said feeding means at the side of the latter opposite from said drilling motor, said guide element being slidably guided on said support and serving to prevent arcuate movement of said drilling motor about the longitudinal axis of said feeding means, and means for adjusting said feeding means on said guideway relative to said support including an adjusting element arranged coaxially and having telescopic relation with said guide element.

16. In a drilling apparatus, the combination comprising a drilling motor, feeding means for said motor comprising relatively reciprocable feed cylinder and piston elements, one of which has a forwardly projecting portion, said motor being carried by said forwardly projecting portion and arranged in parallel offset relation with respect to said feeding means along one side of the latter, a support providing a longitudinal guideway on which said feeding means is slidably guided, a guide element arranged parallel with said feeding means at the side of the latter opposite from said drilling motor, said guide element being slidably guided on said support and serving to prevent arcuate movement of said drilling motor about the longitudinal axis of said feeding means, and means associated with said guide element for permitting pivotal movement of said drilling motor about the longitudinal axis of said feeding means and including releasable locking means for locking said motor against pivotal movement with respect to said guide element. 17. In a drilling apparatus, the combination comprising a drilling motor, feeding means for said motor comprising a feeding element, said motor arranged in parallel offset relation with respect to said feeding element, a support providing a longitudinal guideway on which said feeding element is slidably guided, a guide element arranged parallel with said feeding element and guided on said support for preventing arcuate movement of said motor about the longitudinal axis of said feeding element, and a releasable connection for disconnecting said motor from said guide element to permit such arcuate movement of said motor in either direction about the feeding element axis, said connection including means for limiting arcuate movement of said motor in either direction.

- CHARLES F. OSGOOD. 

